Doohan has been demoted for the coming five races with the squad’s reserve driver, Franco Colapinto, set to take his place.
It is unclear if the Australian will return to the grid with new team boss Flavio Briatore stating that he will assess his options ahead of the British Grand Prix.
That could see Doohan make a return for Silverstone should Colapinto flop over the coming races, but could also spell the end of his F1 career.
Speaking with the Today show, Oscar Piastri was asked about his countryman’s plight.
“If it is the end of the road for Jack, I think he can be very proud,” he said.
“It’s not an easy thing coming from Australia, there’s a lot of hard decisions along the way.
“If he’s had his final race, then hold your head high, you’ve been an F1 driver and no one can take that away from you.
“I’m sure he’ll have a successful career in whatever happens.”
Doohan has reaffirmed his commitment to Alpine despite losing his race drive in a response that spoke volumes about both his integrity and maturity.
While he could have chosen to take the move as the insult it is and left the team, he’s instead doubled down on his support for the operation.
“We have long-term goals as a team to achieve and I will continue to give my maximum efforts in any way I can to help achieve those,” he said in a statement confirming his demotion.
“For now, I will keep my head down, keep working hard, watch with interest the next five races and keep chasing my own personal goals.”
Piastri himself is no stranger to the chaos of Alpine.
Originally part of the academy program during his junior career, the operation mishandled his contract ahead of the 2022 season.
After continually missing deadlines, Piastri ultimately signed a deal with McLaren, only for Alpine to announce the Melburnian as Fernando Alonso’s replacement.
That prompted a messy divorce with the Contract Recognition Board ultimately ruling in favour of McLaren while being critical of Alpine’s handling of the youngster.
Since then, the squad has been seemingly perennially engulfed in turmoil, with Briatore the fifth new team boss in three years.
Piastri currently leads the Formula 1 world championship by 16 points over his highly rated teammate, Lando Norris.
It marks a 39-point turnaround in five events, after he left Australia with just two points – an event won by Norris.
Alpine meanwhile languishes in ninth with seven points to its tally, all courtesy of Pierre Gasly.
Still, it marks an improvement over last season when an overweight car mean Gasly and then teammate Esteban Ocon could muster only one point between them in the opening half dozen events.
Ironically, Doohan played a key role in turning the squad’s fortunes around in 2024.
As reserve driver, he spent long hours on the simulator supporting the race team, which earned him particular praise over the Monaco Grand Prix.
That ultimately led to a call up for the race seat once Ocon elected to switch to Haas for this year, with Doohan replacing the Frenchman for last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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